Lisa's adventures in Elric Land
by brattybratpacks
Summary: Now before you say anything, let me explain. I'm not in love with you, nor am I stalking you. I'm just trying to find my way to make it in five months without Uncle Feury passing out at the thought of me being dragged lifeless into a world of danger. So if you please, Envy, let me go.
1. Introduction (edited)

**MY BAD. His name isn't Nick. It's KAIN. Never was a fan of Kain. Forgive me :C? EDITED IT. Thank you for the review!**

"She shouldn't be involved in this! Please Colonel Mustang! I'd do anything! Anything!" Feury pleaded desperately. Lisa adjusted in her seat uncomfortably. Fearful of her little situation. The brunette's uncle, Feury tries desperately to resolve the situation.

"Three damaged streets, an escaped convict and a one-armed Edward Elric." Colonel Mustang reviews the pages, curious of the situation. How could one girl cause so much damage? It reminded him of Edward himself.

Speaking of Edward Elric, he sits beside the girl. Grumbling curses onto his superior. Lisa looks at him with an angry, almost terrifying face. To her, this was already a situation uneasy to get out of and Edward was not helping her. The Colonel smirked.

"So full metal, I've decided the punishment."

Edward's eyes burn in rage at Mustang. He saved the girl! He saved Lisa Feury -who by the way shows no hint of gratitude to him- from Scar's hand! He should be given a medal for heroism not a punishment!

"Spit it out Colonel Bastard, I don't have all day!" Feury gulped as he scurried towards his niece. Holding her hand tightly. "I-I'm sure the Colonel wouldn't do anything to painful, Lisa." Feury assured. However, Lisa didn't seem too frightened.

In fact, she seemed to challenge the colonel. A determined face to pull of the punishment without a hinge of dignity loss. This amuses the colonel more than anything and now he feels that this punishment would be worth the entertainment.

"Lisa Feury, for the destruction of three streets and the endangerment of other citizens, you are hereby forced to clean up those three streets and furthermore, accompany Edward Elric on his quests."

This is nonsense. No. NO. NO!

"I REFUSE!" Screamed Ed as he slammed his hands (err…hand) on the table. "Have you forgotten that I can barely keep myself alive?! Let alone some young teenage school girl!" Ed protests as he eyes Lisa's knee-length dark blue skirt, white ankle socks and blue blouse with a white and blue necktie.

"Surely she's just as afraid as we are if she were to be hurt Colonel! Brother is right, this is too dangerous!" Al said pleadingly. Albeit Al's point was correct. Not to mention that Lisa was trapped in Scar's arm for a reason. She has a panic attack disorder.

"Colonel!" Feury, now furious for the sake of his niece's life becomes serious. "Anything. Anything but putting her in harms way."

"Who said anything about harms way? All she needs to do is book their hotels, manage their money and make sure to know their whereabouts and stay inside the hotel at all costs. Should we ever need Full metal's assistance, we can assure we can call whichever number she gives us whenever. She won't be in any danger." Colonel finished.

"I accept." Lisa's small voice tells the Colonel. Yes, he does like this girl. Up for the challenge. "For how long?"

Before Ed and Al or even Feury could say anything, Lisa had already accepted the punishment and found out she would have to stay with the brothers for five months, AFTER cleaning up the streets. Standing up with her dirt-stained face and her unruly long brown hair, she left without a word, going to her house to tell her parents that she's under the military's care.

"Strong kid." Colonel commented as Feury sighs. "There's nothing I can do, she's just like her mother. Always facing things head on without complaint."

Al looks dotingly at Ed's unamused face. "Brother, she doesn't seem to be the type to complain. I'm pretty sure she's fine with wherever we're headed off to."

Lisa Feury, completely unlike her uncle, KAIN (ahahahahaha) Feury. Is about to create the biggest disturbance and hindrance in Ed and Al's journey.


	2. Entering Elric Land!

**LISA:**

**Keep in mind that I had no intention of getting in anybody's way.**

**I didn't even have any intention on having lingering, "fan-girl" feelings for the famous Fullmetal Alchemist. A boy about my age that everyone in school has a crush on. I didn't even know it was him until the man with an X on his face had said his name.**

**Edward explained to me that his name was Scar. An Ishvalan. Hearing his story I couldn't help but secretly understand him more than I should. However, I don't understand why he had any motive to hurt me. He's hunting for state alchemists right? Uncle isn't. He's too chicken for those kinds of things. **

Lisa makes her way to her parent's room. Thinking whether or not she should tell them of her situation. All she's ever told them was her spending those two months doing community service. Thinking thoroughly, they would never even find out seeing as all they've done is work out for weeks and return on the next month. Lisa's parents are researchers, both are all for science and alchemy but dislike the idea of being what they call "a military lapdog".

If only they were around often, maybe they would convince her that taking up the challenge of guarding for military lapdogs would be preposterous. She has no choice now, unless they plan to travel to Xing tomorrow on the same day as she does, she'll have no choice but to receive a some sort of other punishment.

"Lisa, we're going to Xing tomorrow, we don't know when we'll be back but we'll be tutoring some of the children there. We're also interested in their version of Alchemy. Did you know tha-" Lisa completely shut off then. Her mother was leaving. There was no reason to tell her anything anymore. Most likely, they'd be back after two years. Seven max.

Always alone, that's what Lisa is. That's why her uncle is so concerned for her safety. She went to school in the morning til the afternoon, and go babysitting in the evening. After that she would go home and do her homework. That's how it was. A completely boring life.

Now she's on her way, in her school uniform (as she's required to wear the Bradley Academy uniform since it is a military punishment) to travel with the famous Elric brothers. Gee, how fun.

Sarcasm intended.

Lisa can't stand it again. Yes, again. She has to go through the process of adjusting with her parents' adventurous lives. Always ignored, always alone. At times she felt her uncle more of a father than her own.

"I'm going to go out. I'll see you guys whenever." She murmured enough for her father to hear, but not enough for him to pretend to care. She grabbed her uniforms, extra clothes and everything else needed for her weird travel of five months around wherever the Elric brothers decide to go.

_"You spent two months getting along with Edward Elric! How could you not fall in love Lisa!? He's probably so handsome!" squealed Lisa's friend Marjorie. _

It's insane. It's insane! Spending two months cleaning off debris on the streets and being with Edward the shouting midget drove her insane. Most importantly, she found out she had zero patience for the boy. After all, in her guess she was merely only in Scar's way. If possible, if the supreme being above had warned her, she would have not had to get used to the Elric brothers.

Unfortunately, she is now.

"Lisa-chan!" Alphonse called out to her. Alphonse's hobby of wearing metal armor does not bother Lisa, and for that Al (and for those who know the truth about Al's situation) has easily welcomed her as a good friend.

"Al, when are we leaving? My back is killing me and I want to just sleep it off." Lisa admits. The two look at Ed, who yanks their tickets off the counter and grumbles for waking up so early. The sight of Edward that way made her feel good.

"Midget having a bad time? I like that." she asks Al.

"He still hates Colonel Mustang for dragging you with us. It's not because of you-it's cause..it's dangerous and it's not safe for a girl and we're bo-"

"I get it. I get it." she laughed.

They hopped onto the train and sat comfortably. Al on one end, Lisa and Ed on the other. "We're going to Resembool first, if you don't mind. There's just something Al and I need to do first before going on. My arm got stiff when we hit the debis last two weeks ago. Colonel Bastard not letting us use alchemy got my arm stuck or something." Edward says as he tries to stretch is auto mail arm.

He just got a new one two months ago…

Oh well. It wasn't Lisa's problem. Once she arrives to Resembool, she'll call her uncle and report to Mustang.


	3. Tearful Lisa and Strong Edward

This is not what I had in mind.

"WINRY OW! WINRY STOP! WIN-GAHHHH!"

This is totally unexpected really.

"QUIT WHINING EDWARD! THIS IS YOUR FAULT! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO GET SO ANGRY WITH YOU!? HOW RECKLESS CAN YOU GET WITH MY BEAUTIFUL WORK OF ART!?"

I sit there, staring blankly into the mess of hot pancakes, butter and maple syrup with chopped bananas scattered onto it. I don't know if I should eat it, but Granny Pinako seems to gesture me to do this and ignore the bickering love birds from behind me.

"Go on now, dear. It looks like Ed and Al aren't even feeding you properly." Criticized Granny Pinako. Al was about to protest when she gave him a glare. "You should know how to treat a young girl, especially girls who are in your care. No bad jokes or touching her, not using her and most importantly, no hurting her feelings. Always make sure she's safe above everyone else and…"

I stopped paying attention. Now Granny Pinako's giving Al a lecture. I'm with the dog. I hope we don't fight.

I finish the pancakes and walk out onto the front porch. Damn, it's beautiful here. Seriously. I breathe in the fresh air and just soak up the warm sun. There's nothing interesting in Central but look at Resembool.

I jump down to the dirty trail road. Maybe if I can go around a bit I'd learn more about this place? It's starting to become my favorite that's for sure! "Al I'll just take a look at the place, alright?" I yell inside the house. Before Al could protest I ran for the green field.

I came across two men telling me stories of how Ed and Al were kids and how Winry always cried. Some gave me souvenirs and I even ate with some of them. It was nice. Everyone was nice. No wonder the military never came here. There was nobody around to hurt them. It was all just painfully good.

That's when it hit me. "By the way, how are the Elric brothers?"

"Oh they're fine. Casualties here and there but they've always managed to get out in one piece so it's no big deal. Come to think of it, I don't know why they even bothered to leave Resembool! It's such a nice and peaceful place! All for the life of a state alchemist how insane!"

The moment those words escaped my lips I felt something different. I look at the faces of the people around me and it hit me TWICE. The first time it hit me, it was a question, now it's another question. Why would they leave this place? What was the reason they left?

Before I could open my mouth, Ed's heavy automail hand grabbed my arm and pulled me away from everyone. I gulped in fear, did he hear what I just said? Oh I hope not. Please don't. Pretty please? Don't hit me or something or leave me here to die! Actually…dying here wouldn't be so bad. In fact, maybe I'd like to live here. Seriously.

"You're not a very good explorer if you haven't seen what you should have seen over three hours ago." Ed tells me without looking at me. I barely keep up, slightly tripping as his auto mail hand grasps my thin arm. He doesn't tighten it, or make it painful. He's just walking quickly. Really quickly.

"A-ah.." I couldn't speak. Where was he taking me? We just passed the path to the Rockbell's home so there's..

there's..

…

A perfect spot to build a house lay in front of me. A single tree beside it. It was a lot. However…the lot… "It's all burned." I whisper.

"Every bit of it." He heard me?

"Every bit of our old house was burned to the ground because Al and I wanted to make sure, we would never go back. Going back would be impossible, as you can see. There's no home to go back to the moment I burned it all to the ground."

I couldn't speak. My mouth got dry again. I crouched down instead, closer to the home he called home. The home he grew up in. The ruins he created. It sort of hurt. I touch a piece of the wood and feel myself twitch. It felt hot, like the pain was still there. Like the reason was still burning inside the very house.

I turned to look at Ed, and all he does is stare into the view, not looking at the ruined pieces of furniture and wood around us. He's right. He isn't looking back at all. I felt myself shake a bit. I can't be that strong. I don't think anybody can be as strong as him.

"E-ed…" He looks down at me, all I could feel was the fire, and I could see them in my mind, staring into the fire, staring at it for the last chance to see everything. It hurt. Wouldn't their parents be mad? That's right..I never asked where they are. I never bothered. They're…could they be dead?

"My mother died and my father left us when Al and I were young so nobody was home when we burnt it don't worry." He gives me this wide smile and a thumbs up and I could feel myself want to cry out loud knowing how easy it is for me to cry.

I stood up and stomped on the ground. "Y-YOU'RE AN IDIOT ED! AN IDIOT!" I screamed before running away. Why did I say that? I don't know.

I just had to escape the burning heat inside of me that's about to kill me.


	4. The pros and cons of Edward's POV

Now I've done it. Feury's going to have my head for this. Making his niece cry. I don't even understand why she cried in the first place! She didn't cry when Scar was gripping her by the throat, nor did she cry when she was thrown to the floor. No, she's crying because I said nobody died in the house. So is she trying to tell me she wanted people to be in there!?

She runs quick. I know where she's headed. She's headed towards the river. Unfortunately, I don't think I have the guts to talk to her yet. Or maybe I'm not in the mood.

Seeing her day-to-day life in those two months where we were forced to clean everything up, I can't help but say I feel jealous. Going to school every monday to friday, having friends and eating together. Having Kain be so worried about her safety like a father would.

Now that I think about it, I've never heard of her parents either…

I walk back inside the house to be greeted by none other than Winry's kiss.

Oh wait. Typo. I was greeted by Winry's wrench and it's stupid edges hitting my face.

"YOU IDIOT WHAT DID YOU DO THIS TIME!? I TOLD YOU TO BRING LISA HOME NOT MAKE HER CRY!" Winry screamed.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT SHE STARTED CALLING ME AN IDIOT AND RUNNING AWAY FROM ME!"

"YOU COULD HAVE CHASED AFTER HER ED! IF YOU CAN CHASE AFTER THOSE ESCAPED CONVICTS THEN FOR SURE YOU COULD HAVE CHASED A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD SCHOOLGIRL!"

Well great, even Al is getting worried. It is getting dark after all. "She's by the river." I tell Al. He nods before leaving the house, completely focused on getting Lisa to safety. He's growing up to be a better man than I am. Heh.

Granny Pinako and Winry look at me, expecting me to explain. I guess I should.

"I showed her our house. And explained to her why we became state alchemists. Leaving out the part of al's body being taken. She started yelling at me after I told her not to worry since mom was already gone and dad was never in our lives."

Granny Pinako sighed as she sat on the chair in front of me. "You are clueless, Edward." She tells me before sipping her tea and ignoring my questioning look.

To be honest, as soon as Winry was finished with my auto mail I came looking for her. The girl, from what I've gathered in our two months together in those three streets, could get lost in her own little world. She has a serious case of wanderlust in her.

I wanted to make sure nobody got to her. Nobody I didn't want to get near her. I was in charge of her after all. I knew everybody in this town so I knew that everyone Lisa met today was no danger but man did they share some pretty embarrassing stories about us.

For a sensitive crybaby she can be oblivious. I'd been following her around and she didn't even notice me until I grabbed her arm when Stephen and the others looked sad or in a pickle of what she said. I heard it clearly as it rolled out of her tongue.

So what? I didn't mind telling her. At least a little bit. She deserves to know anyway. She's traveling with us. She'll find out the rest eventually.

The way she tried her best not to say something stupid honestly made me feel at ease. When she crouched down to touch a piece of wood from the previous floorboards, she twitched. She pulled her hand away as if it was on fire. As if it was still on fire.

It's funny. It felt like she understood that to me, everything in there was still burning.

"LIsa! You poor girl, you're sneezing!" I blink away the thoughts and come face-to-face with the real Lisa. She's sick. Great. "This is my fault…" I told her. She shook her head and sneezed again.

"Al, what happened?" I look up at my younger brother, who's been by the door just staring at Lisa. Well now I'm a little freaked out. Al's never done that. I step closer to him and speak louder. He looks at me and shakes his head.

"Something wrong?" I ask him.

"Nothing, brother. I'm fine."

"She has a fever." Granny tells us. "Al, would you mind carrying her to the guest room?" Al looks at me, and I knew he didn't want to touch her. I carried Lisa out of the chair she'd been sitting on. She was hot. I mean…feverish hot not..not that kind of hot get it out of your head. Seriously.

"Al?" she murmured. Great, she thinks I'm Al. "I'm sorry but your hero is downstairs, it's Ed your nightmare." I tell her sarcastically. She doesn't seem to hear me. I lay her onto the bed and remove her shoes off. Pulling the covers over her, I started to think. What about Lisa? What happened to her when she was young? Where were her parents? Why is Feury so worried about her?

"Goodnight, Lisa." I tell her.

A weak hand grabs my auto mail hand and grasps it. "My real name is Gwyneth. Gwyneth Lisa." She tells me before passing out.

I walk downstairs and hear Al's voice. I hear him telling Winry everything. Everything I already knew the moment I realized he didn't want to touch her.

"What happened Al? She seems to like you, you didn't fight either. And the way she always asks permission to you rather than Ed shows she trusts you more. So what's wrong?"

"Winry…down by the river. When it started to get windy. She got cold but she didn't want to leave. When she tried to touch my arm all she could feel was cold steel armor. I'm.."

"I don't understand, Al…"

Can't protect her? If he didn't go down there she would still be there. If I went there, she'd cry all over again. She called for his name, didn't she? What's with this comparing of me being better at protecting?

"When we get your body back, Al." I speak up. I couldn't take it.

"Brother?"

"When we get your body back. Understand?" I honestly don't know if he understands me. He looks up and nods. "Alright!" Okay, he's cheerful again. Maybe he got it.

"Weirdoes." Winry comments before walking out.


	5. Midnight train

Lisa Feury didn't expect being dragged along by law around the world with her schoolmate's idol, Edward Elric. Neither did she expect that said idol would actually be as wild and cocky as he is. She expected a gentleman, a strong and willful gentleman. Much like what Marjorie had described.

Instead, she found such a man inside a suit of armor.

"Alphonse? You're not going to eat?" Winry chokes and Edward panics. There was no plate laid out for him and it caused Lisa to worry. Unaware of Alphonse's situation, she pushes her plate away. "I won't either." A sigh of relief escapes Ed. She can play the not-eating game as long as she doesn't find anything suspicious. Not yet. Alphonse didn't feel so ready to tell her the truth either.

"You just got out of a fever, Lisa. Please eat. I promise one day I'll take you out to lunch but right now I'm not hungry." Al lies. He lies to Lisa and the way she smiled, completely trusting his words, made him feel guilty.

"Anyways, aren't your parents worried about you traveling with two weirdoes?" Winry asks as she sips her orange juice. Without Granny Pinako (who was tending to her yard), Winry and Ed bickered louder than they should about how Edward felt they were not weirdoes.

"My parents don't know, actually." Lisa confesses. The three childhood friends look at her and tilt their heads at the same time. Lisa found this cute, and stared at Edward's golden eyes. A question, once more, popped in her head._ I've never seen anyone with gold eyes before… _

"Your parents might kill me, Lisa." Edward said bluntly. "They might think I'm putting you in serious danger and stuff."

"They won't care. They left for Xing the same day we left Central. Uncle knows, that's all that matters." Lisa finished her plate and placed it into the sink, washing it without looking at the bewildered faces of the three.

Edward began to wonder even more. "When will they be back? For sure when they get back they'll be curious as to where you are…"

"They'll be back for two to seven years. I think a 5-month long trip won't be a big deal." She explains it to him like it's the most trivial thing in the world. Like it's some sort of normalcy to be traveling with two boys to who knows were. This infuriates Edward, who was she to forget her parents? The very people who take care of her?

She sat back down in front of Edward, who's mouth tilted upside down. He looked at her intently while Lisa's eye twitched. "E-edward..don't worry…Uncle is okay with us."

The way she said it sound differently to Edward. As if she was saying that Feury trusts him with his niece with something other than protecting her. That's a lie. He snorted loudly and turned his head.

"Tell your parents. They must be worried."

Lisa knew what to expect the moment she'd call the number given to her by her father when they left for Xing. She felt guilty with Edward's stern face, knowing he didn't understand why she treated her parents as if they were merely nobody to her.

When she called them, she explained everything. After transmuting the phone to create a loud speaker, Edward froze at her father's words.

"Oh? The full metal alchemist? A military lapdog? How ridiculous. You should have said no. What is Kain doing? Such a stupid man, always getting you into trouble. I'm telling you, if it hadn't been for that discount for your education in Bradley Academy, I would never have bothered to talk to him." Lisa shut the phone down. Gripping tightly onto the handle.

"They don't care." She tells Edward flatly. Edward tries to muster up the words to say something. Anything. It's only last week that he had made her cry, and today they would be leaving Resembool to go to Liore. Edward felt the cold aura surrounding her.

"You burned your house right? I never had the courage to leave my parents. Even when all they've done for me is to give me life. Uncle takes care of me. He brought me to Bradley Academy. A school for students who's relatives are of the military. He checks up on me daily. He calls me every night. He's not my biological father, but he's the only one I have left."

Edward suddenly recalls how he screamed a similar thing while trying desperately to recover his brother, Alphonse. That night with the human transmutation circle. The taboo that cost Alphonse his entire body and him, his leg. To retrieve his brother's soul it cost him his arm.

He just wanted to see his mother once again. Unfortunately, maybe for Lisa who's father and mother are both alive, having them around was just a lot more painful.

"I'm cold." She tells him flatly. Edward removes his red coat and drips it onto her shoulders. They wait for Alphonse as they all bid goodbye to the Rockbells and head out for Liore.

"Are you alright, Lisa?" Asked Alphonse as they boarded the train that would take them the farthest in the desert. Seeing as Liore is a desert oasis, they had no choice but to cross the blazing desert. "I'm fine." She says as her mouth drifts off into the midnight sky.

Al could feel himself getting worried. She seemed silent. Had the call buried her in her thoughts more than he thought? She was still wearing Edward's red coat. It seemed funny to Al. It looked like they were a couple.

Lisa sat by the window, watching the visibly beautiful stars. Edward sat beside her, looking at the food cart passing by them. Their hands, was what bothered him. Their hands, folded together, without either of them looking at it as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

That night by the river, all that Lisa could say was how it hurt to see Edward. All she talked about was Edward. Could he blame her? How could Lisa look at her any differently than a little brother? He is younger anyway.

Thinking deeply as he watched Lisa's eyes follow the stars, her dried lips, closed and her messy hair slightly pulled back by the wind. He realized he didn't care if she loved him back. He didn't care at all. The sight of Lisa reminded him of himself. Even the way she stalked off to sit by the river was like him.

"A glass of water, please." Al asked. His older brother looked up at him, curious as to why Al would ask for water. When passed onto him, Al gently took Lisa's other hand and placed the glass of water in it. Lisa looked at it curiously and looked at Al.

He smiled. Although he wasn't sure if she knew he was smiling. "You're lips are dry. You're dehydrated." Lisa blushed and it felt good for Al to see her blush because of him. She drank the water and returned the glass.

"It's funny, I swear I thought I saw you smile behind your suit of armor." Lisa joked. To Al, it was no joke. Edward looks at his brother with a grin and Al nods back.

In the minds of these three companions, that night just felt right.


	6. Shocking Discoveries

Lisa tried desperately not to collapse in the blazing sand. Her bangs felt wet against her forehead. Some of her hair stuck to her neck. It did not work that she wore her summer school uniform. No, it made no difference. The heat was getting to her.

"EDWARD!" She yelled desperately. The blonde alchemist had been striding behind her, crawling for food. "I'M BEHIND YOU, IDIOT!" Edward yelled back.

Lisa looked back weakly, accidentally falling flat on her butt. "It's so hot!" She squealed. The sound didn't really sound right in Edward's ears. "WATCH YOUR WORDS!" He yelled in frustration. "Shut up! I'm too tired!" She retorted.

Alphonse looked both at his brother and Lisa. Feeling sorry for the sweat dripping two, Al decided it be best to carry their luggage. At first, Lisa wasn't sure whether to give her luggage, forcing herself to drag it behind her.

Lisa finally gave in the moment she fell down on the desert sand. "Al! How can you stand this! I can barely think!" whined Lisa. Edward looked at her and sighed. He's right, there was absolutely no way he could move any longer either. Maybe if he pushed further. After all, he got this far by pushing himself to the limit.

"HEY! A TOWN!" Edward smiled a wide smile and ran straight for it. Lisa felt a grip of relief. They weren't lost in this blasted desert after all! "Alphonse c'mon! I can't stand the heat anymore!" She grabbed her suitcase off from Al's hands and ran straight towards the town Ed had first spotted.

The town was large. Quite large and lively to be stuck in the middle of a desert. At first, Lisa became suspicious. When she saw the fountain there was no time for curiosity. "WATER!" She screamed as she ran straight to the fountain. Excitedly cupping her hands for a drink, Edward quickly threw her hand off.

"Hey!"

"It's not water. It's red wine." Ed explained. "You're so thirsty you can't even see the difference." Lisa furrowed her brows.

"Go over there, sit down and we can order you a cold drink." Ed was acting mature. As if he was taking care of a ten year old. Lisa blushed a little. She's no ten year old. She's the same age as him! Not knowing what to say, she walked out and did as she was told.

Lisa sipped the glass of water with content, drinking two glasses and wiping the sweat off of her with her handkerchief. She used their bathroom, cleaning herself and making sure she didn't smell like she walked through a desert for one night and 4 hours.

Unfortunately, when Lisa came out. Ed and Al where nowhere to be seen. "Great! They ditched me!" She said out loud. The owner of the shop turned at her and smiled. "They went to the church, just walk straight and turn into the center. If you get lost, you can ask anyone around. I'm sure they'd be glad to help." Lisa thanked the old man and walked away.

She should have known Ed and Al would cause another scene, spend a night in jail and expose a false-preacher in those hours. Walking up to the church she spied Edward explaining to a girl about the components of the human body.

Something didn't feel right.

A bursting feeling inside of her.

Alphonse noticed Lisa, and confronted her. "Did you hear that?" He asked. Lisa jumped, looking up at Al with frightened eyes. If Al could frown, he would have. Inside Lisa's mind it frightened her to think of why Ed and Al would even know these components. THere were questions unanswered. A dead mother they wished to come back.

Ed's arm and leg have disappeared.

What about Al?

Before Lisa could open her mouth, they went straight for the town square. Al could tell Lisa couldn't look at him in the eye. It worried him. It made him feel wrong.

Cornello formed a sunflower out of thin air and everyone clapped. Could this be it? What they've been searching for?

"I'M INTERESTED IN THE FOUNDER, ROSE! I'M A BELIEVER!" Lied Edward. Lisa gripped tightly to her necktie. This didn't look good. Not good at all.

"Lisa, would you like to sleep in the spare rooms already? Are you sleepy? Hungry? Tired?" No, Lisa didn't speak. She looked deep inside Al's steps, thinking about what he must have lost, if she was correct.

"I..I just have a bad feeling, Al. Why do we have to go there?" She mumbled weakly. Al gripped on her shoulder tightly. "I'm right here, if anything bad happens, I'll come save you alright?" Lisa shook her head. "It's not me I'm worried about, Alphonse…Not me."

They were led to a strange hallway and Lisa's heart started to beat faster and stronger than before.

"Founder Cornello is busy so you'll only talk to him for a short while." The man said.

"That's alright, I don't need to talk to him for long." Ed mused.

The next a gunshot was heard. Lisa screamed. Alphonse's helmet laid on the floor. "AL!" Lisa tried to run for him but was grabbed mercilessly by the waist of one of the guards. "ALPHONSE!"

"These men are heretics Rose! Heretics! The founder allowed this! He allowed their destruction! His word is the will of Leto!" the yell rang in Lisa's ear.

Heretics.

"That's a mean god." Alphonse's voice snapped out. Edward hit one of the men holding him. It all happened so fast. Lisa stared in awe.

Alphonse punched the man holding Lisa, causing her to drop to the floor. "WAAAAAAH!" Screamed one of the men. Lisa didn't know where to go, she could only stare at Al. There was nobody in his armor. Yet there was a disembodied voice.

"What's going on!" Demanded Rose.

"It's always been like this." Edward tells her as he knocks at Al's chest.

"Th-there's nothing inside! It's Hollow!" Rose eyes grew larger the longer she stared at Al. Lisa stopped looking when she heard Rose call Al hollow. This isn't true. There's only one reason for this to happen.

It should be in history books, not in real life.

"This is what happens to people who trespassed into God's forbidden domain." Al explained as he put his head back on. "Just like me. And my brother too."

The words echoed in Lisa's head. The days when Al wouldn't eat, the nights he barely slept. How he felt no pain that time when she threw a rock at his arm. How he doesn't like taking off the armor at all…

"Rose…do you have the guts to see the truth?"

Lisa blanked out after that. She didn't follow them. She only stared in awe.

A few loud noises and a battle exposing the founder's true nature, Lisa just walked around, trying to find a way out of the maze. She felt dizzy. For a schoolgirl, a boring simple schoolgirl, these things shouldn't happen.

She already knew what they did. Human Transmutation. It was obvious now. Her suspicions were correct and it burned her. Had she been that completely blind? Or was she pretending not to hear how hollow Al's voice was. How it echoed in his suit. Was she trying to be stupid? The burnt house proved it. It all made sense.

Why they couldn't go home.

Lisa walked out of the ruined church, staring straight into the sky. Where were they? She didn't know. All she knew was she didn't know what to tell them.

"Lisa." The voice made her jump. She turned to look around but there was no one there. No one except a woman with curly black hair. She smiled at Lisa and Lisa smiled back. She didn't want to bring anyone else down.

When Lisa bowed and stood back up, the woman had disappeared.

"It was a fraud. After all this time. Just like that stupid fraud founder!" yelled Ed.

"We should find Lisa now, bother." Al countered. Ed's angry face subsided. He looked down on to his shoes and sighed. "There's no point explaining to her, the situation Ed. She's probably by the fountain. Let's get her."


	7. Midnight Desert Talk

We found Lisa.

She was just playing with the red wine fountain. Putting her finger in and watching droplets drip back down onto the fountain. Her eyes, I couldn't read them. Does she hate me? Does she hate me and Al?

I can't say.

Ever since the first day I was forced to work with this girl, when we started having dinner together after working late in the night to fix those streets without alchemy. Up to our trip to Resembool and her call with her parents. I guess she stuck to me a little bit. But not enough for me to get worried about what she thinks.

She's just a schoolgirl. A plain, ordinary schoolgirl dragged into our lives. She can leave and ask for another way to learn her lesson or whatever. It's not gonna matter if our friendship ends here. Right? Right? Haha. Right.

"Al.." She finally speaks. We've been staring at her and she's been staring at us. I noticed her legs are bruised again. A large cut from who knows where spreads straight across her cheek. "Lisa…" Al. I can feel him tremble with his voice shaking. He's worried.

Tears suddenly fall down Lisa's cheek. She jumps up and punches Al's chest, causing her to scream in pain. "OW! OW! OW! OW! OWEE OWEE OWEE OWEE! OW!" She breathed in and out, crouching back down to kiss her knuckles.

I laughed aloud and she gave me a glare. I relaxed a bit with her glare. Feeling a bit better. "It's not funny! What you two kept from me!" She yelled.

I stop laughing. "Kept from you?"

"How could you not tell me!" She seemed really angry now. Stomping her foot and staring intently at Al and I.

"We didn't think you'd understand, Lisa. You're from a different world." Al explains briefly, looking up at the sky. "We just wanted to see our mother smile again. It was a mistake we made four years ago. We didn't know if you could handle it."

Lisa turns around quickly, quietly sobbing. It's funny really. I know she's noticed something was off with Al. The questions she started to ask back at Resembool. I knew she had a hunch. "You already knew before we told you." I tell her flatly.

Her shoulders fall, her head bowed down. "I wasn't sure. However…I don't care! Even if you looked like a large trash can I wouldn't care Al! Even if you're so small a girl like me could beat you in a height competition, I wouldn't care Ed! You're my friends! Friends don't judge!" She turns around to look at us and the tears stop falling.

Why does she always cry when it involves us?

"I don't understand why, but I don't need to. I care about you two. I care so much that I can accept things about you with no hesitation so please…no more secrets."

Lisa's face, her cheek was cut. A large deep cut. It probably stopped bleeding 30 minutes ago. Her hair was all over the place. Her fingers and arms and legs were covered with dust and bruises.

"You're injured…" was the only thing I could say. Lisa looked at me and raised her eyebrow. "I punched your chest, of course I'm injured."

I carried her out back to the train station. She fell asleep inside of me, barely making any noise. Brother's been looking up at the sky. Probably hiding the disappointment that the philosopher's stone was a fraud.

I couldn't think straight though. The way Lisa punched me earlier, it felt like she didn't do it because she hated me. She did it because I never told her the truth.

Every few hours, I call out her name. She responds mostly with "hmm?" and "Al?" but she barely spoke. She's probably dead tired.

"Lisa?" I call out. I could only hear her breathing this time. Slow and steady and sure. I can relax a little bit.

"She's something, isn't she?"

"What do you mean, brother?"

"She gets strangled by Scar, thrown to the ground, practically thrown forcefully upwards by a stranger, bruised and hit by collapsing buildings, stranded in the desert but she cries because we didn't tell her what happened to us."

It is strange. Isn't it? Lisa's always loud and suddenly speaking up. She barely cries and fights back when it comes to other people. However, when it's brother and I…she cries. A lot.

"I don't have a lot of friends." Her voice spoke up from inside me. I rip my chest open and she dangles her feet outside. "I have friends but I don't like them. I want to be with people who I can be normally me. I found that with you guys. Of course, It hurts me when you're hurt."

Ed scoffs at her. "You're such a softy, Feury." Lisa grunts and pulls my arm. "I don't want to see your SHORT brother's ugly face anymore Al! Please close your chest!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORT!? YOU'RE SHORTER THAN I AM YOU PINT-SIZED CRYBABY!" Ed yelled. I hurriedly closed my chest causing and to yell through it. Lisa laughed loudly.

I feared the worse and got the best reaction from her.

Nothing can go wrong.

Right? Wrong…

Again.


End file.
